AT&T's Multiverse of Corporate Madness

AT&T's Multiverse of Corporate Madness Aug 14, 2019 0:56:22 GMT

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Post by thisguy4000 on Aug 14, 2019 0:56:22 GMT

Aug 14, 2019 0:37:27 GMT Lord Death Man said:

Aug 14, 2019 0:22:49 GMT thisguy4000 said:

Considering that DC is arguably WB’s most lucrative franchise, AT&T would have to be idiots to sell off the film rights for their characters. The only reason Marvel did that back in the day was because they were facing bankruptcy and didn’t have a major company like Disney backing them up.

For top tier characters your absolutely right... For third, fourth or fifth string characters... watch the skies.

Just think about it. You're a greedy, corporate psychopath --- fresh out of Harvard with a newly minted expense account and a charge to fill that debt gap no matter what (or no second home for you, Charlie). Do I make a Booster Gold film that no one might see? Or, do I license the rights out to some other chump to do it for me, maybe Lion's Gate? Oh sure, I could put Harley Quinn in a BG film but, how many times is that trick going to work (before I damage the reputation of my more performant IP)? It's not like I'm building a shared universe or anything...

Dr. Fate. Sounds like Dr. Strange, innit? Maybe Universal wants to take a stab at a Fate-Verse! If they win, we win. If they lose, they pay us and, we still win. Oh, here comes that chick from publishing again. Sounds like the teacher from Charlie Brown. Look interested. Blue Devil... as a straight up horror comedy. How old is Jason Blum again? I'm told he likes a challenge. Wonk Wonk Wonk Wonk Wonk Wonk...

I have no doubt that the conversation is being had.

The thing is, you never know how the third, fourth or fifth string characters will fare on the big screen. There already has been precedent for CBMs starring less popular characters doing well. Hell, DC’s highest grossing movie at the moment is an Aquaman movie. I know Aquaman isn’t as obscure as someone like Booster Gold or Dr. Fate, but the point is that you never know how a property will translate to the big screen until you actually do it.

The wide variety of characters in the DCU lends itself to a lot of versatility for the kinds of stories you can tell, and AT&T would be stupid to consider selling any of that. There’s a reason Marvel started their own studio.